Ἄνευ _____ μὴ βάδιζε.
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Ἄνευ ξύλου μὴ βάδιζε.Φοινικήϊα _____.
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Φοινικήϊα γράμματα._____ πρὸς Φοίνικας.
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Σύροι πρὸς Φοίνικας._____ ἀνδρὶ παρείη.
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Ἀδελφὸς ἀνδρὶ παρείη._____ ὡς ἐκ μήτρας.
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Γυμνὸς ὡς ἐκ μήτρας.Ἄνευ ξύλου μὴ βάδιζε.
Do not walk without a cudgel.
The word ξύλον means wood and things made of wood; the sense here is a club or cudgel. In other words, don't walk about defenseless. The saying is attributed to Cleomenes, one of the Spartan leaders in the war against the Persians.
Φοινικήϊα γράμματα.
Phoenician letters.
The ancient Greeks called writing "Phoenician letters," but they did not necessarily attribute the invention of writing to the people we call Phoenicians. For example, some said the letters were invented by Phoenix, the son of Agenor; others said the alphabet was so named in honor of Phoenice, the daughter of Actaeon. You can read about the actual Phoenician and Greek alphabets at Wikipedia.
Σύροι πρὸς Φοίνικας.
Syrians versus Phoenicians.
As ethnic stereotypes in ancient Greece, both Syrians and Phoenicians had the reputation of being cheats and swindlers, so this saying referred to one gang of swindlers trying to cheat another gang. The preposition πρὸς plus the accusative can mean simply direction "towards" but it can also have the hostile sense of "against," which is the meaning here.
Ἀδελφὸς ἀνδρὶ παρείη.
Let a brother come to a man's aid.
The words appear in Plato's Republic, and he labels the words a saying: τὸ λεγόμενον. The word πάρειμι can just mean to be present, to be next to something, but it can also have the sense of standing by and helping, which is the meaning here. You can also consult Erasmus for more Greek sayings similar to this one.
Γυμνὸς ὡς ἐκ μήτρας.
Naked as from the womb.
Compare the equivalent English saying, "As naked as the day he was born." The Greek phrase was used, metaphorically, to refer to someone who was as helpless as a baby. See also the Biblical Book of Job, αὐτὸς γυμνὸς ἐξῆλθον ἐκ κοιλίας μητρός μου γυμνὸς καὶ ἀπελεύσομαι ἐκεῖ, "Naked came I out of my mother's womb, and naked shall I return thither." From the root in Greek γυμνό- we get English gymnasium.
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Ἄνευ ξύλου μὴ βάδιζε.Φοινικήϊα _____.
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Φοινικήϊα γράμματα._____ πρὸς Φοίνικας.
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Σύροι πρὸς Φοίνικας._____ ἀνδρὶ παρείη.
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Ἀδελφὸς ἀνδρὶ παρείη._____ ὡς ἐκ μήτρας.
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Γυμνὸς ὡς ἐκ μήτρας.
And to finish up, here's a random proverb and a random LOLCat too:
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